


Renegades

by Requiem



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Mostly Platonic, Multi, Poe's pov, What-If, and a bit of angst, featuring mildly lustful staring, finn and rey's backstories are to blame for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 09:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6798781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requiem/pseuds/Requiem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe reaches the X-wing in time to take off, but not to avoid being shot down just before he can jump to hyperspace. After a disastrous crash landing, he treks back to the village and finds it in ruins and the villagers massacred. The only person still alive is a stormtrooper, kneeling next to the body of a fallen comrade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Renegades

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by every amazing person on youtube who made music videos for TFA set to Renegades by X Ambassadors.

BB-8's in the T-70, keeping it ready for takeoff as soon as Poe has the map, and monitoring communications for any sign the First Order has caught wind of Poe's mission. Poe's glad he'd tasked BB-8 with the latter, because they get plenty of warning before the first troop carrier lands, giving Poe enough time to get the map and himself to the X-wing and off Jakku.

 

It's not enough time to escape notice though, and TIE fighters are being rapidly deployed from the massive Star Destroyer orbiting Jakku. Under different circumstances Poe would surely take the time to admire being so close to a work of such craftsmanship, but right now he's just trying to stay alive. There must be at least half a dozen TIEs on his tail and best pilot in the resistance or not, those just aren't fair odds. 

 

Poe takes out two fighters and has his sights on a third, but gets hit in an engine before he can fire. Warnings flash up on the screen but they're useless to him now as the T-70 spirals out of control and back towards Jakku. 

"Brace for impact!" Poe shouts at BB-8 even though they both know if they hit the ground at this speed there'll be no chance of surviving. 

Poe's last thought before he blacks out is that he hopes the map is destroyed with them.

 

He wakes up aching and thirsty as hell but not dead, which is a surprise. Poe lies on the sand for a moment, trying to figure what he's doing here. It comes back to him in a rush and the first thing he does bring a hand to his jacket pocket; the map is still there, thank god. Onto more pressing concerns: BB-8 and the T-70 are gone. There's no sign of wreckage or a crash site, only the pilot's seat Poe had been thrown from, limp parachute half buried in the sand. BB-8 must have ejected him once he'd lost consciousness.

"Thanks buddy," Poe whispers to the empty air. The least he can do now is complete the mission, now that BB-8's given him another chance. He picks himself up and walks.

 

It's not long before he sees light illuminating the darkness up ahead. He picks up the pace, only to stop at the top of a hill, horrified at the scene before him. It's Tuanul, in flames.

 

Bodies are strewn everywhere, some with weapons in their hands, others crouched in hiding spots holding their loved ones, and there's a large group in the centre of the village lying haphazardly on top of each other. Either they were moved there, or they were corralled into the one spot and executed. Both options make Poe feel sick, and he's turning away from the sight to throw up when he hears heavy breathing. A survivor?

 

He stumbles through the debris, ears straining to hear which direction the sound is coming from. Poe tracks it down to an outcropping of rock, and rounds the corner to find two stormtroopers, one kneeling by the other's body. The kneeling stormtrooper has his helmet off so Poe can see the sheer terror in his eyes as he brings up his blaster and points it at Poe. Poe is completely unarmed and dearly regretting it, freezing with his hands up while he tries to calculate how fast he can dive behind cover.

 

Thankfully he doesn't have to, because the stormtrooper lowers his blaster.

"You're not with the First Order," he says. He sounds lost and confused and Poe puts his hands down, takes a few steps closer.

"No, I'm not," he says. "What about you?"

Instead of answering, the stormtrooper turns back to his fallen comrade. The other trooper still has their helment on, which makes Poe wonder how they tell each other apart.

"You two know each other?" Poe asks.

"He was my friend."

"I didn't know stormtroopers could have friends." It slips out before Poe can think twice.

The stormtrooper looks ready to either cry or bring his blaster back up.

"Okay, okay!" Poe raises his hands placatingly and takes a step back. One of these days he'll learn to control what comes out of his mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Your buddy got a name?"

"FN-2003. We called him Slip." The stormtrooper sighs heavily and tears his gaze away, pushing himself to his feet.

"What about you?" Poe asks.

"FN-2187. You can call me Eight-Seven if you want."

"That's not a name, that's a number," Poe says as lightheartedly as he can while fuming internally. If the First Order wants mindless troops they should just use battle droids. "FN, huh? What about Finn? Can I call you Finn? Is that alright?"

FN-2187 appears to consider this for a moment. When he looks back at Poe, there's the tiniest smile on his lips. "Finn. Yeah. Finn, I like that." The little quirk of his lips blossom into a full smile and oh god, Poe is in so much trouble. 

"I'm Poe," he manages to say. "Poe Dameron."

"Can I come with you?" Finn asks. He has the most hesitantly hopeful look on his face that Poe's ever seen. 

"Sure, buddy," Poe says. Looking at that face, he'd probably say yes to anything. 

"It's good to meet you, Poe."

"Good to meet you too, Finn."

 

They gather what supplies they can from the ruined village and set off for the nearest outpost. Niima Outpost, if Poe remembers his pre-mission briefing correctly. The First Order will probably start looking for them there, but it's also their best chance of getting a ride off Jakku. 

 

Finn leaves his distinctive stormtrooper outfit at the village and trudges alongside Poe dressed only in his underarmour. It takes Poe a disconcerting amount of time to realise Finn is shivering in the cold desert air. Poe stops and takes off his jacket.

"Here, wear this," he says, holding it out to Finn.

Finn slowly takes the jacket. "Are you sure?" he asks.

"If you freeze to death before we get to Niima Outpost that won't be any good. Not to mention you'll stand out, wearing all black in the middle of the desert."

"Oh. Okay." Finn looks chastised, and puts on the jacket.

Poe mentally slaps himself. "It looks good on you," he says with a smile, trying to undo the damage.

Finn brightens immediately and smiles back. Poe is _screwed_.

 

They stagger into Niima Outpost late in the afternoon, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted but too afraid of getting caught to stop moving. Their water ran out before noon and they've only had one ration bar to share between the two of them all day. Poe has pockets full of valuables he'd guiltily taken from the village that he hopes to buy their way off Jakku with, but they're useless without anyone to trade with.

 

Finn lets out a cry when he sees a water trough and runs over to take a drink. Poe follows at a slower pace, scanning the crowded marketplace for anyone who looks too interested in the new arrivals. Then Poe catches sight of a distinctive orange and white BB-unit and his heart soars.

"BB-8, my buddy!" He drops down on one knee and holds out his arms as BB-8 rolls frantically across the sand. "I thought you didn't make it," Poe says as he rubs BB-8's sandy dome. 

[I thought _you_  didn't make it,] BB-8 replies, rolling back and forth to gently butt Poe in the knee. [Humans are so fragile. The T-70 is gone though.] BB-8 whistles sadly.

"I'm alright buddy, and I'm glad you are too."

 

During his and BB-8's reunion, they were apparently joined by a girl holding a staff.

"You're Poe Dameron," she says when Poe stands up. "BB-8's master."

"I am. And you are?"

[This is Rey. She rescued me,] BB-8 beeps up at Poe. 

"I, ah, it was nothing, really," Rey stutters, blushing slightly. "I just couldn't stand by and let a perfectly good droid be salvaged for parts."

"Thank you," Poe says earnestly. "He means a lot to me."

Rey blushes even harder and clamps her mouth shut, looking away. 

[Who's this?] BB-8 asks, bumping against Finn's leg.

"What does he want?" Finn asks, bewildered.

"This is Finn," Poe says to BB-8. We came from Tuanul together. I'll tell you more later." He looks at Rey. "I don't mean to impose, but I don't suppose you have somewhere we can stay? Or at least somewhere we can talk privately?"

Rey whips around so fast the buns on the back of her head are still swaying slightly. "Yeah. Come with me."

 

Rey lives in a downed AT-AT, occupying a small room crammed with salvaged parts and various knick-knacks. The doll dressed in a scrap of orange flightsuit catches Poe's eye first, but his attention is quickly drawn to the wall with the scratch marks. Rey is obviously counting something, and there are _thousands_  of scratches painstakingly etched into that wall. Poe's heart aches a little.

 

Rey is looking between him and Finn, as if waiting for them to say something.

"Thanks for inviting us to your home," Poe says. "You didn't have to."

Rey grunts and turns away. "I'm going to make something to eat."

 

Rey heats up a plate she's apparently using as a pan over a tiny burner and dumps a green square onto it. Then she fills a small container with water and stirs in a packet of powder. The grey mixture soon turns into a loaf of bread that Rey cuts into three equal-sized pieces. The whole loaf was barely enough for one person, Poe thinks, surely she's not...?

 

His suspicions are confirmed when Rey slides the dubiously coloured square off the sizzling pan and also cuts that into three pieces. 

"There's no room in here; we'll eat outside," she says, handing Poe a plate of food. she picks up the other two plates and calls for Finn, who's gone off to explore the other rooms.

 

They sit by one of the legs of the AT-AT, the setting sun at their backs and sand dunes stretching to the horizon before them.

"What is this?" Finn asks, eyeing the plate that Rey passes him.

Poe supposes the First Order feeds their troopers well. He's no stranger to field rations himself, but he can't imagine living like this day to day, especially not on what looks like a quarter portion split amongst three people.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it back," Rey says, half her dinner already gone. She chews like her food might decide to get up and leave if she doesn't eat it fast enough.

"No, it's fine," Finn says, and hurriedly starts eating.

 

"BB-8 says he's on a secret mission," Rey says after she's licked her plate clean. Literally. Poe would feel compelled to give her his food if he hadn't finished it already. "Are you with the resistance?" She looks between Finn and Poe with tentative excitement.

There's no way this girl could be with the Order, Poe decides. And BB-8 trusts her so he does too.

"I am," he says, "Finn recently defected."

"From what? The First Order? I thought you weren't allowed to leave," Rey stares open-mouthed at Finn.

"We're not," Finn says, "so don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Rey says solemnly, putting a hand over her heart. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have to complete my mission," Poe says. "I have to leave Jakku. As soon as possible; the First Order will be looking for me."

"And me," Finn adds.

"For us," Poe amends.

Rey purses her lips thoughtfully. "Do you know how to fly? There's a ship at the spaceport that hasn't been touched in years. No one will miss her."

"I can fly anything," Poe says.

 

Rey only has enough bedding for herself so Poe and Finn end up sleeping on the floor in another room. Everything Rey has is for one, Poe notices. It looks like she's been alone for a long time.

"You could come with us," Poe says quietly.  

Finn is completely out, snoring in the next room using Poe's jacket as a pillow.

"I can't," Rey says like this is something she's explained a thousand times. "I'm waiting for my family."

Poe glances at the marks on the wall behind her. Why did they leave, he wants to ask, how old were you. But in the end he says "alright," and leaves it at that.

 

In the morning Rey takes them  to the spaceport, but they don't get far into the outpost before BB-8 starts beeping in alarm.

"What is it, boy?" Poe asks. 

[THEY'RE HERE!] BB-8 screams at him.

Poe, Finn, and Rey look around wildly. It's Rey who spots the two stormtroopers first, talking to a Crolute behind a kiosk.

"Let's go!" Finn shouts. He grabs Rey's hand and pulls her towards the tents. Poe can hear her protests as he runs after them.

 

Amongst the tents they're hidden from the stormtroopers' view, but they can't see their pursuers either. Finn stops for a moment up ahead, scanning his surroundings while Rey rips her hand out of his grip. She's about to say something when the cleaning unit next to the two of them explodes in a cloud of steam. They both scream and Finn goes to take Rey's hand again but she pushes him away.

"I know how to run without you holding my hand!" she snaps. "This way, come on."

 

Blaster bolts follow them, easily ripping through the tents and causing panic in the marketplace. In the commotion, Rey leads them to another tent and somehow manages to lose their pursuers.

"They were shooting at me too!" she hisses, rounding on Finn and Poe.

"Yeah they saw you with me!" Finn says, eyes wide and breathing heavily. "You're marked!"

"Thanks!" Rey says sarcastically. 

BB-8 rolls into the tent, beeping.

"They're calling in an air strike," Poe relays. "We gotta go, it's now or never."

Rey clenches her jaw and seems to come to a decision. "The spaceport is this way." She takes off at a run.

 

They sprint out of the tents and are almost immediately set upon by two TIEs. The ground before them explodes in a cloud of sand that shakes their footing, but it also hides them long enough that they're entering the spaceport by the time the TIEs come around again.

 

"That one!" Rey points towards the right.

From what she's told them Poe expects a small ship, something inconspicuous and not worth much. 

"This is the Millenium Falcon!" Poe shouts when he catches up to Rey on the ramp.

"What?" she shouts back, already going inside.

Poe hits the door control once BB-8 gets on. "It made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!" he calls after Rey.

"So what?" Rey says, dropping into the co-pilot's seat. 

"It's... fast." Poe puts the stories of his childhood heroes aside for now. His hands hover over the controls and he pauses. "How do you fly this thing?"

"I thought you were a pilot!" Rey looks at him incredulously.

"I am!" Poe says defensively. "This makes no sense!" None of the switches or levers are where he'd expected them to be, and nothing is labelled. 

"Well, do _something_!"

An explosion goes off in front of the ship. Rey reaches over and starts flicking switches. Poe can only stare in horror, but miraculously, the Falcon powers up and starts rising off the ground. It wobbles and tilts and slams into something that sends it spinning. Poe grabs the yoke and tries to level them out while Rey keeps messing with the controls.

"Stay low!" Finn shouts over the comms. "It confuses their tracking!"

"I'm trying!" Poe is wrestling with the yoke, but the Falcon keeps gaining altitude no matter what he does.

"BB-8 hold on!" Rey shouts behind them, then yanks the yoke backwards.

 

The Falcon banks upwards so hard Poe's head slams into the back of his seat, then there's a sudden moment of weightlessness while they're upside down. BB-8 squeals and bounces off the walls several times before they're upright again, coming up between the two TIEs. They waste no time in opening fire, a few shots glancing off the Falcon.

"Shoot back!" Rey shouts into the comms.

"I'm working on it!" Finn replies. "Are the shields up?"

Rey looks around at the controls.

"Co-pilot's side," Poe says, glad to have the steering back. He's pulled off a few crazy manouevers in his time, but never in a ship this big.

 

Rey's barely got the shields up when another blast hits them.

"We need cover, quick!" Finn says.

"We're about to get some!" Rey answers. "Head for the graveyard," she tells Poe, pointing at a cluster of downed ships. 

 

The cluster turns out to be hundreds of ships, some that Poe recognises from holos of the Battle of Endor. Shots flying past them reminds him that he doesn't have the time to be admiring ships, and instead he focuses on piloting, making turns as sharp as he dares, hoping the TIEs will crash or Finn will hit them.

 

Rey is now pushing levers, working with a confidence that usually comes with months of training and familiarity. Poe's not sure where that came from, but the Falcon continues to fly smoother and faster, so he can't complain.

 

"I got one!" Finn yells with a whoop.

"Nice shot!" Rey says, grinning.

"Good job," Poe adds. He can feel their chances getting better by the second.

That is, until the second TIE scores a direct hit on their underside. 

"Talk to me, buddy," Poe says when Finn doesn't speak up.

"I'm alright, but the cannon's stuck in forward position!" Finn answers, thankfully.

Next to him, Poe can hear Rey exhale forcefully in relief.

"I'm going to try something," she says. "Get ready!" she tells Finn.

"Okay!" Finn acknowledges. "For what?"

"Go in there," Rey says, nodding at a wrecked star destroyer. Her tone of voice leaves no room for argument, and Poe flies right in.

 

It's a tight fit, the Falcon sending sparks flying as it grazes the insides of the destroyer. The TIE is still hot on their tail, and in fact, has the advantage in a small space like this. Just what was Rey thinking?

"It's a dead end!" Poe shouts as they rapidly approach a solid wall.

He takes his eyes off the front for a split second and sees that Rey is completely focused, waiting for something.

"Turn right!" she suddenly bellows in his ear.

Poe jerks the yoke hard to the right, blindly trusting in Rey's instructions.

 

They shoot out into the desert and Poe doesn't even have time to adjust to the sudden brightness before Rey's cut the power and told him to swing around. The pursuing TIE is right behind them, but Finn fires right on target and it explodes into pieces. They yell in unison as Rey pushes the engines to full power and Poe turns the Falcon around, starting their climb away from Jakku.

 

Finn thunders down the corridor, cheering, and Rey jumps up from her seat to meet him in the hallway outside the cockpit. Poe smiles to himself as they loudly compliment each other amidst the jumping and shouting. When it quiets down, he turns to see them holding onto each other's arms, staring at each other in wonder. To think, he never would have met them if he hadn't been shot down. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing all evening and I'm out of steam now so unless inspiration strikes again that'll be all!


End file.
